Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I take a different position from Deputy O'Connell on the Bill. I congratulate Deputy Gino Kenny on the work he has done as it takes a great deal of work to get a Bill to this stage. The Deputy pointed out that the legislation may not be perfect. It can be tweaked on Committee and Report Stages.

Having listened to the points made by the previous speaker, there is clearly a misconception abroad that one shoe fits all. I and many members of the public seek clarity as to whether the Bill, if passed in its current form, would resolve the case of Vera Twomey. Notwithstanding that, improvements can be made on Committee Stage to benefit people in future. I know people who use cannabidiol, CBD, which I have also used. In the past seven years, I tried every available product for certain conditions, including CBD, and none of them worked.

I support the Bill proceeding to the next Stage for further debate. However, I seek clarity on whether, in its current form, it would benefit many people. This matter needs to be addressed because we do not want to build up expectations. This legislation is part of a process and sometimes processes take a long time.